COLLEGE NEWS ACG Grant Recipient Receives Confocal Endomicroscopy Imaging Training in Germany I n this issue of the ACG Update we are highlighting Dr. Anna Buchner from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville who won the first annual ACG North American International GI Training Grant. This grant provides partial financial support to U.S. and Canadian GI fellows-in-training or GI physicians who have completed their training within the last 5 years, to receive clinical or clinical research training in Gastroenterology and Hepatology outside of North America. As the winner of the 2008 grant, Dr. Buchner traveled to Europe to train in confocal endomicroscopy imaging techniques. We are delighted that ACG was able to play a positive role in her career I am honored to be the recipient of the first annual ACG North American International GI Training Grant for 2008. With the support of the ACG grant, I traveled to Europe in September where I spent two weeks receiving superb training in confocal endomicroscopy imaging techniques from renowned international leaders. I participated in one week of confocal endomicroscopy training with the endoscope based confocal Pentax system under the supervision of Professor Kiesslich at the University of Mainz in Germany. I am very grateful to Prof. Kiesslich for his guidance and support throughout my stay. This training experience included live demonstrations, hands on practice and imaging interpretations of common GI pathologies, including colorectal cancer and dysplastic lesions in inflammatory bowel diseases. Furthermore, I participated in excellent talks by Prof. Kiesslich and his coworkers, Drs. Moussata, Goetz and Hoffman, on the confocal endomicroscopy applications including surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal neoplasia. I was particularly impressed by Prof. Kiesslich and Dr. Moussata’s recent research projects on the identification of epithelial gaps and the sealing of epithelial gaps, and its potential implications for intestinal dysfunction in human diseases such as www.acg.gi.org development. I hope you will enjoy reading about her experience below, in her own words. I also hope that after reading her story, GI fellows in North America will be encouraged to apply for this grant for 2009 and that GI fellowship program directors reading this article will pass this information on to the trainees in their program. For more details, please log on to the ACG website at www.acg.gi.org/members/nainternationalgrant.asp. The 2009 Training Grant Application will be available online beginning in February 2009. Manoop S. Bhutani, MD, FACG Chair, ACG International Relations Committee inflammatory bowel diseases. In addition, I had the opportunity to participate in laparoscopic liver biopsy exams with the application of the confocal rigid probe performed by Dr. Goetz and Prof. Kiesslich. This experience has enabled me to learn about the newest application of confocal microscopy in assessing liver architecture in real time. I was also given the opportunity to learn about confocal endomicroscopy research projects on the development of molecular markers for in vivo immunohistochemistry and the application of confocal microscopy to intraabdominal organs in animal and human models. My stay in Mainz coincided with the Falk symposia and workshops which were held in that city between September 17 and 21. The live demonstrations and state of the art lectures on the endoscopic imaging advances by international leaders were some of the learning experiences that I particularly enjoyed. During my second week in Europe, I went to Paris where, under the supervision of the Scientific Officer of Mauna Kea Technology (MKT), Dr. François Lacombe, I received training in automatic confocal image processing and software analysis. I met with the MKT engineers ACG 2008 North American International GI Training Grant Recipient Anna M. Buchner, MD, PhD, in confocal procedures with Prof. Ralf Kiesslich. working on the probe improvement of the probe based confocal microscopy system which I have currently been using at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville. I was very impressed with the enthusiasm, dedication and work ethic of the whole MKT team. This training allowed me to continue our current collaboration on projects involving the development of the probe stabilization system and improving automatic image analysis. I also had the great opportunity to meet with other probe based confocal endomicroscopy system experts while I was in Europe: Drs. Evelien Dekker, Frank van de See ACG Grant Recipient, page 9 December 2008 ACG Update 7 EDUCATION ACG has filled the 2009 educational calendar with regional courses in almost every region of the U.S. Visit www.acg.gi.org today to register for one or more. New Orleans March 6-7, 2009 Intercontinental Hotel Eosinophilic Esophagitis • LAMMICO for Malpractice Insurance Credit • Viral Hepatitis Update • Difficult Cases in ERCP • Legislative Update • IBD Update: Role of Biologics • IBS Treatment Update: Role of Bacterial Overgrowth • Liver Diseases and Pregnancy An ACG/LGS Spring Symposium New York City March 13-15, 2009 Broadway Millennium Hotel & Conference Center Gastroenterologists and Sedation: A National Perspective • Propofol in Your Practice • Initial Screening: Colonoscopy vs. CT Colonography • Polyps and Polyposis • Updates on Biologics for IBD • Optimal Management of Upper GI Bleeding • The PPI is Not Working: Refractory GERD • Barrett’s Esophagus: With and Without Dysplasia • Management of Bleeding in Anticoagulated Patients • Special Symposium: A Practical Approach to Endoscopic Video Unknowns • Special State-of-the-Art Lecture: NOTES – Practical Applications • Abnormal LFTs: What Not to Miss • GI Issues in Women’s Health • Capsule Endoscopy • And more… Las Vegas March 27-29, 2009 The Venetian Resort Eradicating H. pylori: Ensuring a Knockout Blow • Nausea and Vomiting: Old and New Therapies • Infectious Diarrheas including C. difficile Colitis • Treating Lymphocytic, Collagenous, Diversion and Mast Cell Colitis • Chronic Constipation: Are New Therapies an Advance? • Treating IBS: An Evidence Based Approach • State-of-the-Art Lectures on New Endoscopic Technologies • Live Cases Simulcast from Johns Hopkins Hospital • Complications of Chronic Liver Disease 2009 • Managing Gastroparesis When Metoclopramide Fails • Eosinophilic Gut Diseases from Esophagus to Colon • A Pancreatic Mass on CT • Avoiding Litigation in Your Practice • Billing and Coding … How to Keep Up • And more… Captiva Island, Florida April 17-19, 2009 South Seas Island Resort The New Epidemic of the Century: Eosinophilic Esophagitis • Bariatric Surgery: What the Gastroenterologist Should Know • Persistent/LFT Abnormalities Without Overt Liver or Hepatobiliary Disease • Esophageal Spasm – An Update • Drugs and the Liver • Updated CRC Screening Guidelines – Applications for 2009 • Colon Cancer in IBD: Can you Detect It? Can You Prevent It? • Celiac Disease: Who Are We Missing? • Step Up or Top Down Therapy in IBD: Does One Approach Fit All? • ERCP: Reducing the Risk of Complications • Colonic Ischemia • H. pylori: What’s Hot and What’s Not • The Increasing Challenge of C. difficile Colitis • The Constipation and IBS-C Conundrum: What Can We Do? • 2009 and the Future: What Are the Threats to our Conventional Endoscopic Practice? An ACG/FGS Spring Symposium ACG Grant Recipient continued from page 7 Broek and Alexander Meining. I was very grateful to be given the chance to participate in confocal exams in their medical centers in Munich and Amsterdam. All together, including my mentor, Dr. Mike Wallace, we were able to exchange our experiences with the use of this recently developed probe based confocal endomicroscopy system (MKT, Paris, France) and discuss further applications and research www.acg.gi.org projects among our groups. My two weeks in Europe were among the most intense weeks of my gastrointestinal training. Traveling thousands of miles, meeting international leaders, doing live cases with them, learning from them, and participating in discussions was a real privilege and a great lifetime experience. I am very grateful to my program directors, Prof. Ralph Kiesslich and Dr. Fran- çois Lacombe, for their support during my confocal training. I also have a deep gratitude to the ACG for this unique opportunity that allowed me to receive superb confocal endomicroscopy training, which will enable me to complete my research projects and to continue fruitful collaboration in the area of confocal endomicroscopy and its role in diagnosing gastrointestinal neoplasia. A C G December 2008 ACG Update 9
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